Letters

I want to give a very special thank you to The Brunswick Beacon for advertising our card party at Ryan’s in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Oct. 24.

The Beacon generously ran our announcement for many weeks. It is so nice living in this community with The Brunswick Beacon helping us celebrate all our local community events. Because of it, we were able to raise monies that we can, in turn, help support many local charities.

A little history is in order to clarify this discovery. From 1955 until 1969, the backside of the Sunset Beach island was continuously modified. Canals were dug by the landowner and the dredged fill was used to build the peninsula of North Shore Drive. Feeder canals were dug so each lot would have water access.

In June 2013, the General Assembly passed a bill allowing the town of Sunset Beach to impose a canal dredging and maintenance fee. The fund does not exist.

To the citizens of Sunset Beach: I’ve had the honor of working on Sunset Beach Town Council for two years and have seen and heard all kinds of misinformation thrown about, but several of the letters to the editor in last week’s Beacon by current colleagues and candidates for town council misstate facts and offer innuendo that lead to character assassination, for lack of a better term.

My husband and I have been permanent voting residents of Sunset Beach since 1997. One of the first people I met at an island coffee shop 20 years ago was Jan Harris. Even back then I was impressed by her knowledge of issues facing our town.

As my time on Sunset Beach Town Council comes to a close, I am dismayed to read Rich Cerrato’s self-titled “Tax Payers’ Digest,” recently distributed to Sunset Beach voters.

Why I am one of the people attacked in his report is a mystery, since I am not seeking re-election. Mr. Cerrato’s digest contains dozens of errors, insinuations and statements that do not reflect the whole picture of an issue, I assume in an effort to get selected candidates elected who will support his views on town business.

We are losing our democracy in North Carolina. The Republican super-majority in the Statehouse is rushing to ensure that North Carolina is a one-party state. They are working to gerrymander by computer down to the last household to increase their authoritarian control of our government. The have legislated severe encroachments to the governor’s powers. They are scrapping judicial primaries to make next year’s ballot long and confusing, hoping to give GOP candidates a permanent advantage in maintaining their majority.

As a member of Sunset Beach Town Council, I’ve seen first-hand our dedicated police, fire, beach patrol, department of public works and administrative staff deal with matters that are made more complex due to our exploding summer population.

The Beacon accurately reported my frustration toward council candidate Charlie Nern on Oct. 17. After the incident, I sent an apology to my colleagues and provided a copy to the Beacon to also alert them. The newspaper’s effort to contact me before its deadline was unfortunately unsuccessful.